What is the liability if half the tongue is severed, resulting in the loss of only one-quarter of the speech, and a subsequent injury severs the remainder of the tongue?
Chapter on Diyat (Blood Money) for Wounds
Al-Mughni
Book of Blood-Money (Diyyāt)
Primary text
If half the tongue is severed resulting in the loss of only one-quarter of the speech, the liability is half the Diyah. If a subsequent injury severs the remainder, the liability totals three-quarters of the Diyah. This is because three-quarters of the speech has been lost in total, necessitating three-quarters of the Diyah, similar to the case where the initial injury caused the loss of three-quarters of the speech while the tongue remained physically intact. Furthermore, if a non-severing injury had destroyed the remaining three-quarters of the speech while the tongue remained, three-quarters of the Diyah would be due; thus, the same liability applies when the physical severance of the remaining half causes this loss.
Supporting text
A dissenting view suggests that only half the Diyah is due because only half the tongue was physically severed in total across both injuries.